The Lensmen Saga
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The Lensmen Saga
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Triplanetary
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
This is the first of E. E. "Doc" Smith's six Lensman books, and although it isn't as fast-paced as later Lensman novels, it sets the stage for what is perhaps the greatest space-opera saga ever told. Through a series of vignettes spanning millions of years, readers will learn how the titanic struggle between the good Arisians and the evil Eddorians first came to pass, and about how humanity was chosen (and bred) to assume the awesome power of the lens. |
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First Lensman
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
In First Lensman, the second book in the Lensman series, we find the benevolent super beings of Arisia ready to bestow the first "lens" on a human being (which, among other things, will give humans telepathic powers). The honor goes to Virgil Samms, who will ever after be known as the "First Lensman." But it's a title that he'll have to earn by establishing the Galactic Patrol, a group that is at once powerful and incorruptible, and will protect the universe from the evil and almost-unstoppable Eddorians. If that weren't tough enough, Samms must also dodge assassination attempts at home and help his second in command Rod "The Rock" Kinnison win the presidency of North America. And that's just the beginning of his troubles. |
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Galactic Patrol
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
The Galactic Patrol has been given the ultimate weapon in its war against the evil pirate Boskone: The Lens. But even though the Patrol's Lensmen are the most feared peacekeepers in the galaxy, they aren't quite sure how to use their unique gift. Things are about to change, however. Kimball Kinnison has just graduated from the academy, and now that's he's earned his Lens, he's determined to figure out how it works. Kinnison begins his journey of discovery by taking command of the Brittania, an experimental ship that's as likely to kill him as it is the Boskone raiders it was built to fight. That leads him on a series of whirlwind adventures that include a visit to the planet Arisia--where the mysterious creators of the Lens make their home--and end up in a confrontation with Helmuth, who may well be Boskone himself. Although this is the third book in the Lensman series, it's the novel where, as SF critic John Clute puts it, "the story has started, and it does not stop." This is a rip-roaring tale of heroes, aliens, space battles, and bold deeds, the stuff that Golden Age science fiction was built from. |
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Gray Lensman
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
Kim Kinnison is Doc Smith's James Bond. What fun the author must have had putting this one to ink. Wouldn't bond have enjoyed using a negasphere, black hole-like wave of hyperspace, to destroy one bad guy planet? The next bad guy hideout planet squashed like a walnut between two colliding planets. What a gas! Your hero loses both hands and feet but not to worry. Brilliant geneticists discover how to excite the dormant pineal gland. Soon all body parts are regenerated (like a starfish grows new points) and the hero is good as new. Just in time to let him marry his beautiful, red headed nurse. Hollywood, here comes Kim Kinnison! |
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Second Stage Lensmen
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
Possibly the best in the Series, though anyone would tell you, that is a difficult determination to make. The 5 most powerful "Second Stage" Lensmen do detective, spy and combat duty to ferret out and destroy the denizens of Boskone. The beams are hotter, the technology heavier, the battles bigger and the mental powers greater than ever before. See the sunbeam roast planets! This book is loaded with everything good about the Lensmen series. My favorite chapter is "Nadreck at Work", about a non oxygen breathing, Second Stage Lensman with a decidedly, uh, er, different moral outlook on things. Clarissa Kinnison, Kim's wife, comes into her own as a woman hero to make this series accessible to women also. |
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Children of the Lens
by
E. E. "Doc" Smith
This book introduces the five children (Kit Kinnison and his sisters) who will lead the final battle against the evil Eddorians. This story is the slam-bang conclusion of the series in which ever greater powers of good and evil are called into action. My only criticism is that in this book Kimball Kinnison's time is past, and he remains on center stage too long. Once the most powerful man in Civilization, even he is no match for an Eddorian. In the previous two books, his adventures were the deeds of a superhuman second-stage Lensman. But now he seems almost irrelevant, as his far more powerful kids have to protect him. The attitude is, well, we'd better keep an eye on Dad - he's too feeble-minded to know we're actually fighting Eddore. A priceless scene occurs when Clarissa Kinnison introduces one of her daughters to the evil matriarch of Lyrane II. The villainess thinks as she attacks, "Ah, the daughter is younger and less experienced. She will be easy prey." Oops! The last fifty pages are worth rereading over and over, as the combined forces of good slug it out with the last bastion of evil in the galaxy. It is the climax of six novels, and it does not disappoint. Enjoy the slang and the hokey dialog, as most modern writers don't have the jets to swing this load. |
